Today we conclude our feature on Stroke. Please ensure you take not and practice the dos and donts so that you can stay healthy and free from stroke. Thanks
đź”´Those who engage or have or more of the following are at risk of suffering from stroke
♦️Being overweight or obese
♦️Physical inactivity:
♦️Heavy or binge drinking
♦️Use of illegal drugs such as cocaine and methamphetamine
Medical risk factors
♦️High blood pressure
♦️Cigarette smoking or secondhand smoke exposure
♦️High cholesterol
♦️Diabetes
♦️Obstructive sleep apnea
♦️Cardiovascular disease, including heart failure, heart defects, heart infection or irregular heart rhythm, such as atrial fibrillation
♦️Personal or family history of stroke, heart attack or transient ischemic attack
COVID-19 infection
Other factors associated with a higher risk of stroke include:
♦️Age — People age 55 or older have a higher risk of stroke than do younger people.
♦️Sex — Men have a higher risk of stroke than do women. Women are usually older when they have strokes, and they’re more likely to die of strokes than are men.
♦️Hormones — Use of birth control pills or hormone therapies that include estrogen increases risk.
Types of Stroke
There are two main causes of stroke: a blocked artery (ischemic stroke) or leaking or bursting of a blood vessel (hemorrhagic stroke). Some people may have only a temporary disruption of blood flow to the brain, known as a transient ischemic attack (TIA), that doesn’t cause lasting symptoms.
1. Ischemic stroke
This is the most common type of stroke. It happens when the brain’s blood vessels become narrowed or blocked, causing severely reduced blood flow (ischemia). Blocked or narrowed blood vessels are caused by fatty deposits that build up in blood vessels or by blood clots or other debris that travel through the bloodstream, most often from the heart, and lodge in the blood vessels in the brain.
2. Hemorrhagic stroke
Hemorrhagic stroke occurs when a blood vessel in the brain leaks or ruptures. Brain hemorrhages can result from many conditions that affect the blood vessels. Factors related to hemorrhagic stroke include:
*Uncontrolled high blood pressure
*Over-treatment with blood thinners (anticoagulants)
*Bulges at weak spots in your blood vessel walls (aneurysms)
*Trauma (such as a car accident)
*Protein deposits in blood vessel walls that lead to weakness in the vessel wall (cerebral amyloid angiopathy
4. Mini stroke
A transient ischemic attack (TIA) — sometimes known as a ministroke — is a temporary period of symptoms similar to those in a stroke. A TIA doesn’t cause permanent damage. A TIA is caused by a temporary decrease in blood supply to part of the brain, which may last as little as five minutes. Courtesy: Mayo Clinic.